Section 27. NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF COUNTY OFFICERS. Except as this charter provides to the contrary, the manner of nominating and electing candidates for elective county offices shall be the manner now or hereafter prescribed by the laws of the state for the conduct of nonpartisan nominations and elections.

(1) No petition, declaration, or ballot for an elective county office shall make reference to any political party ballot or to a political party affiliation or designation.

(2) Election of county officers under this Section shall be held at the November general election according to “STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) Voting” as described in subsection (5) of this section.

(3) A ballot shall be delivered to each registered elector, regardless of party affiliation.

(4) The ballot shall direct the elector to score each candidate appearing on the ballot on a scale of zero to five, with zero being the lowest score possible and five being the highest score possible. If an elector leaves a candidate’s score blank, the elector’s score for that candidate shall be counted as zero. The ballot shall inform the elector of how votes will be tallied under subsection (5) of this section.

(5) Votes cast shall be tallied according to STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) Voting, as follows:

(a) For each office for which a candidate appears on the ballot, the vote tally system shall calculate the sum total of the scores received by each candidate and then determine the two candidates who received the greatest total scores.

(b) Of the two candidates identified under subsection (5)(a) of this section, the vote tally system shall determine in whose favor each elector’s ballot was cast, as follows: Each elector’s ballot shall be considered cast in favor of the candidate who received the greater score, but if an elector gave both candidates the same score, the elector’s ballot shall not be considered in favor of either candidate.

(c) The candidate in whose favor a greater number of ballots were cast as determined under subsection (5)(b) of this section shall be deemed the candidate who received the highest number of votes cast and therefore elected, including for purposes of election of County Commissioners under section 10(3)(b) of this charter.

(6) The County Commissioners shall, by ordinance, establish rules necessary for the orderly administration of the election using Score Runoff Voting as described in subsection (5) of this section. Such rules shall provide for the determination of the prevailing candidate in cases of a tie-vote at any stage of STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) Voting.